Jackie ‘O’ Henderson made headlines in 2023 when she sold her “dream home” in Sydney for $13 million.
The 49-year-old radio star then explained that the paparazzi had influenced her decision to part with the luxury eastern suburbs property.
But in her new memoir The Whole Truth, Jackie reveals a darker twist to the sale, saying she linked the house to her addiction to alcohol and prescription pills.
Jackie said it was when she was living in the luxurious Woollahra home that she began abusing alcohol.
She also became addicted to prescription medications, including codeine.
“Alone, especially at night, it was hell on earth,” she explains in the book.
Purchased as a “forever home” in June 2022 for $11 million, Jackie describes the luxurious four-bedroom, three-bathroom property as a “fortress” in her new tome.
“On one side, the trees grew for miles (it felt like being in a rainforest, completely isolated from the world), while on the other side they looked like concrete walls with a gate,” he writes.
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has revealed the dark and disturbing reason why she decided to sell her striking ‘forever home’ in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson made headlines in 2023 when she sold her ‘dream home’ in Woollahra for $13 million.
‘I was surprised that it didn’t have a moat. Inside, this palace was made of cold marble and stone. “It was like living inside a Westfield shopping center: cold and soulless.”
In November 2022, Jackie had fled her home to the US to stay for 28 days at the famous rehabilitation clinic, the Betty Ford Center.
Meanwhile, her friend Gemma O’Neill began organizing a sale of what was supposed to be Jackie’s “forever home.”
In her new memoir The Whole Truth, Jackie reveals a darker twist to the sale, saying she linked the house to her addiction to alcohol and prescription pills.
“I never wanted to go back to the Woollahra house,” the radio star writes in the book.
‘…Gemma helped me put it on the market privately so no one would know I was in this state of turmoil.’
Jackie originally purchased the Woollahra property after selling a beautiful mansion in Vaucluse she had built with her ex-husband, Lee Henderson.
The former couple paid $2.7 million for the property in the sought-after neighborhood in 2012.
The couple then built what Jackie calls in her book the ‘Father of the Bride’s House,’ a reference to a 1950s Hollywood film celebrating upscale suburbia.
Jackie originally purchased the Woollahra property after selling a beautiful mansion in Vaucluse she had built with her ex-husband, Lee Henderson. The former couple paid $2.7 million for the property in the sought-after neighborhood in 2012. (Pictured)
The palatial home, which features five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a white picket fence, sold in 2020 for $6.5 million.
Before splashing around in Woollahra, Jackie lived in a Bondi rental but complained about being harassed by paparazzi.
In March this year, it was revealed that Jackie splashed out $13.25 million on a three-story beachfront home in Clovelly at an open auction.
The house is set back from the road, offering privacy that he didn’t have in the narrow streets of his Woollahra address.
The palatial home, which features five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a white picket fence, sold in 2020 for $6.5 million. (Pictured)
Earlier this year, Jackie teased fans with details about how she plans to transfer the two-story house into her dream home.
Features include spacious open plan living spaces with sea views, a new built-in swimming pool, sculpted gardens and palm trees.
It comes after the slender beauty shared her personal story of drug and alcohol addiction for the first time with listeners during The Kyle and Jackie O Show last month.
Fighting back tears, Jackie revealed that she checked into the Betty Ford Center in California in November 2022, when she took an extended break from The Kyle and Jackie O Show, which she previously claimed was due to long Covid.
In March this year, it was revealed that Jackie splashed out $13.25 million on a three-story beachfront home in Clovelly at an open auction.
Known for treating Hollywood stars such as Keith Urban, Robert Downey Jr. and Lindsay Lohan, the Betty Ford Center charges between $45,000 and $90,000 AUD for a one-month stay, depending on the program.
Jackie revealed that her long-term friend Gemma had been instrumental in getting Jackie into rehab.
She recalls: ‘It came to a head and (Gemma) was a great friend. She said, “I’m sorry, Jackie, but you’re not going to cut this back, it’s never going to work.” I’ll take you to rehab at the end of the week and we’ll go.”
“I said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Gemma.’ That’s an exaggeration. I don’t have a problem bad enough that I need to go to Betty Ford.”
“And she said no, we’re going to do it, and I thank God she did it,” Jackie added.
“Thank God there was someone like her because I think she saved my life.”
He said they took a red-eye flight from Australia and boarded at the “last minute” to avoid being seen.
They then flew to Los Angeles, where Gemma stayed with her for two days before checking into the Betty Ford Centre.
She said Gemma accompanied her to Los Angeles and helped her get on the plane “undetected” while she talked about keeping her addiction a secret for two “long, painful years.”
At the time, Kyle, who was unaware of Jackie’s drug addiction, told his listeners that Jackie was taking a break to “focus on her health” after contracting Covid.
Instead, she was secretly flown out of Australia to receive 28 days of treatment at the world-famous rehab center for her addiction to painkillers, sleeping pills and alcohol.
At the height of her addiction, Jackie took between 10 and 12 Stilnox/Zolpidem and 24 Panadeine Forte sleeping pills a day and took them while drinking alcohol.
Stilnox users are warned not to drink alcohol, as it can slow down the respiratory system and make it difficult to wake up.
Jackie said Betty Ford told her not to change “anything” about its use before she arrived as it could be “dangerous”, so she was still taking the pills on the day she flew to the US.
He added that he was “back and forth” deciding whether to share the news publicly before detailing the extent of his addiction in his memoir, The Whole Truth.